Bass Under Fire: Trump Steps In After LA Wildfire “Cover-Up” Scandal

Paul Riverbank, 2/5/2026LA wildfire scandal: Bass accused of cover-up, Trump seizes control, survivors still await help.

You might expect, after the flames were doused and the headlines faded, that rebuilding would be the easy part if everyone wanted it. But in Los Angeles, those next steps got snarled fast. Talk to enough neighbors and you’ll hear the same thing: paperwork stacked on desks, phone calls answered with a shrug, and a constant echo of “just one more form.” The city’s promise to lead the recovery keeps tangling up with “the process”—the word that seems to mean everything and nothing at all.

But here’s what’s new. According to a Los Angeles Times piece that’s caused more than a few quiet freakouts at City Hall, Mayor Karen Bass allegedly directed her team to tweak—let’s call it clean up—the official review into how the city handled last year’s disaster. Two insiders told the Times that the mayor “wanted key findings about the LAFD’s actions removed or softened”—and that’s just what happened. The motivation? It all points back to liability, and, let’s be honest, some very human impulses to avoid blame.

The real gut punch is in what got scrubbed. Fire hydrants nowhere near full strength. A critical reservoir—bone dry. Basic prevention steps skipped, and as one retired firefighter put it, “We all saw this coming.” When the alarms finally sounded, responses lagged, leaving families precious minutes short. Some in the mayor’s orbit waved yellow flags privately—suggesting these “self-serving edits” might haunt her later. Despite those warnings, the report sat in limbo, then emerged with its sharpest criticisms blunted. In city politics, that sort of cover-up grows legs fast.

Alongside it all, another storyline brewed: while warnings of “red flag” weather floated around city offices, Bass was on the other side of the globe—making diplomatic appearances in Ghana. Now, depending who you ask, this is either standard mayoral duty or a dereliction at a moment when local nerves were stretched thin.

The fallout has reached the Senate, where Republican lawmakers—Rick Scott and Ron Johnson—have taken aim. They’re pressing hard for candor: what failed, why, and why are so many residents still living out of suitcases after all this time? Scott, never shy about attacking bureaucratic foot-dragging, says the revelations about the report only deepen his doubts.

The numbers don’t lie. Despite countless promises of “rapid response,” the city’s recovery is still hobbled by red tape. Permitting remains a quagmire: over 1,000 rebuilding applications sent back for corrections, endless waits for signatures and stamps. One mother described her family’s journey from hotel room to guest house to tiny sublet, “watching our future turn into paperwork dust.” Meanwhile, luxury condos downtown seem to jump the line—a fact not lost on fire victims stuck on hold with City Hall.

County and state officials, pressed for answers, stick to two explanations: not enough money and too much complexity. But the toll? Just 2,400 permits cleared—many more stuck in the system, leaving large stretches of scorched neighborhoods untouched.

Into this mess waded President Trump. His new executive order takes a sledgehammer to local permitting rules, letting homeowners “self-certify” that their rebuilding plans comply if a city stamp doesn’t appear within 60 days—effectively shifting authority to Washington. FEMA and the SBA now hold the final call, and those agencies say they’re ready to act much faster.

EPA chief Lee Zeldin has taken point on the federal push, recently huddling with Bass and LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. Zeldin called the meeting “productive,” but also made clear the clock is running out on patience: “Residents who have lost everything can’t afford more delays. It’s time to get out of the way and let them rebuild.” Kelly Loeffler, now running the SBA, went further: “People here are living through a second disaster—and it’s city offices, not wildfires, standing in the way.”

The mayor’s sidestepping: Bass and her team insist that the real choke point is federal funding, not city permits, but residents can’t help notice how quickly certain projects progress when the right donors are involved. Every new high-rise that breaks ground while old neighborhoods remain barren stokes more anger at City Hall.

All of this makes Bass’s upcoming reelection race—already crowded—feel newly precarious. With candidates like actor-turned-local-hero Spencer Pratt and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath hammering her “handling of the recovery crisis,” the softened report and stalled permits offer campaign fodder too tempting to ignore. Even fellow columnists are sharpening their pens: “This could be the undoing of Bass’s mayoral tenure,” wrote one, echoing a sentiment gaining ground in living rooms across LA.

At the heart of it, though, is a simple truth many Angelenos will share with anyone willing to listen. Disaster response needs transparency, speed, and, above all, a focus on the people trying to put lives back together. Concealing failures—no matter who gets protected—only wears down public trust further. Now with Washington in the driver’s seat and doubts clouding City Hall, the question is stark: Can Los Angeles finally cut through its web of promises and give these families a road home?

For the fire survivors, the waiting never gets easier. Time stutters forward, measured in unanswered emails and weeds creeping up through the ashes. What they require is not another report but a city—any leadership, really—that remembers their loss deserves urgency, not more delay.

The hills of Los Angeles, baked brown and scored with black, wear their wounds in plain sight these days. Everyone who lives near Pacific Palisades knows what was lost last fire season—white stucco houses now piles of gray powder, whole blocks replaced by empty lots where wildflowers wrestle with weeds. The waiting, survivors say, has been worse than the fire itself. “It’s like living in a bad dream that doesn’t end,” one father told me as he surveyed the rutted land where his home once stood.You might expect, after the flames were doused and the headlines faded, that rebuilding would be the easy part if everyone wanted it. But in Los Angeles, those next steps got snarled fast. Talk to enough neighbors and you’ll hear the same thing: paperwork stacked on desks, phone calls answered with a shrug, and a constant echo of “just one more form.” The city’s promise to lead the recovery keeps tangling up with “the process”—the word that seems to mean everything and nothing at all.But here’s what’s new. According to a Los Angeles Times piece that’s caused more than a few quiet freakouts at City Hall, Mayor Karen Bass allegedly directed her team to tweak—let’s call it clean up—the official review into how the city handled last year’s disaster. Two insiders told the Times that the mayor “wanted key findings about the LAFD’s actions removed or softened”—and that’s just what happened. The motivation? It all points back to liability, and, let’s be honest, some very human impulses to avoid blame.The real gut punch is in what got scrubbed. Fire hydrants nowhere near full strength. A critical reservoir—bone dry. Basic prevention steps skipped, and as one retired firefighter put it, “We all saw this coming.” When the alarms finally sounded, responses lagged, leaving families precious minutes short. Some in the mayor’s orbit waved yellow flags privately—suggesting these “self-serving edits” might haunt her later. Despite those warnings, the report sat in limbo, then emerged with its sharpest criticisms blunted. In city politics, that sort of cover-up grows legs fast.Alongside it all, another storyline brewed: while warnings of “red flag” weather floated around city offices, Bass was on the other side of the globe—making diplomatic appearances in Ghana. Now, depending who you ask, this is either standard mayoral duty or a dereliction at a moment when local nerves were stretched thin.The fallout has reached the Senate, where Republican lawmakers—Rick Scott and Ron Johnson—have taken aim. They’re pressing hard for candor: what failed, why, and why are so many residents still living out of suitcases after all this time? Scott, never shy about attacking bureaucratic foot-dragging, says the revelations about the report only deepen his doubts.The numbers don’t lie. Despite countless promises of “rapid response,” the city’s recovery is still hobbled by red tape. Permitting remains a quagmire: over 1,000 rebuilding applications sent back for corrections, endless waits for signatures and stamps. One mother described her family’s journey from hotel room to guest house to tiny sublet, “watching our future turn into paperwork dust.” Meanwhile, luxury condos downtown seem to jump the line—a fact not lost on fire victims stuck on hold with City Hall.County and state officials, pressed for answers, stick to two explanations: not enough money and too much complexity. But the toll? Just 2,400 permits cleared—many more stuck in the system, leaving large stretches of scorched neighborhoods untouched.Into this mess waded President Trump. His new executive order takes a sledgehammer to local permitting rules, letting homeowners “self-certify” that their rebuilding plans comply if a city stamp doesn’t appear within 60 days—effectively shifting authority to Washington. FEMA and the SBA now hold the final call, and those agencies say they’re ready to act much faster.EPA chief Lee Zeldin has taken point on the federal push, recently huddling with Bass and LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. Zeldin called the meeting “productive,” but also made clear the clock is running out on patience: “Residents who have lost everything can’t afford more delays. It’s time to get out of the way and let them rebuild.” Kelly Loeffler, now running the SBA, went further: “People here are living through a second disaster—and it’s city offices, not wildfires, standing in the way.”The mayor’s sidestepping: Bass and her team insist that the real choke point is federal funding, not city permits, but residents can’t help notice how quickly certain projects progress when the right donors are involved. Every new high-rise that breaks ground while old neighborhoods remain barren stokes more anger at City Hall.All of this makes Bass’s upcoming reelection race—already crowded—feel newly precarious. With candidates like actor-turned-local-hero Spencer Pratt and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath hammering her “handling of the recovery crisis,” the softened report and stalled permits offer campaign fodder too tempting to ignore. Even fellow columnists are sharpening their pens: “This could be the undoing of Bass’s mayoral tenure,” wrote one, echoing a sentiment gaining ground in living rooms across LA.At the heart of it, though, is a simple truth many Angelenos will share with anyone willing to listen. Disaster response needs transparency, speed, and, above all, a focus on the people trying to put lives back together. Concealing failures—no matter who gets protected—only wears down public trust further. Now with Washington in the driver’s seat and doubts clouding City Hall, the question is stark: Can Los Angeles finally cut through its web of promises and give these families a road home?For the fire survivors, the waiting never gets easier. Time stutters forward, measured in unanswered emails and weeds creeping up through the ashes. What they require is not another report but a city—any leadership, really—that remembers their loss deserves urgency, not more delay.